The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-01-02

one look OF anguish ana exclaimed
my God what do you mean" l was
paralyzed with horror as the conscious
ness of what l had done struck me like
| a blow. Meantime some interesting
events were transpiring upon the stage
or rather they were not transpiring ow-
| ing to my absence. had forgotten the
scene the physician had with Macbeth
Immediately succeeding the sleep walk
ing scene. was told by those anxious
| to make me feel good that the stage
wait was something awful, that Mr..
| Booth paced up and down the stage for
what seemed like minutes, gnawing his
| moustache and asking in undertone
l"Where is the physician? Where is
the physician?" Some one told him I
was non est and he cut the scene,
called for bis armor and Walks5
of. l had cut the star out
ola scene, and all those beautiful
| lines beginning, ''Can'st thou not min
lister to a mind diseased ?" etc. I fuIIv
realized that he had every right to he
furious with me, and that most actors
would have been so. 1 had not the
courage to confront him with an
apology that night. The stage man
ager came to my room before we got
out, gave me look of unutterable re-
proach. but only said quietly, THAT
was inexcusabie." 1 was grateful to
him for letting me off so easy, but
nothing could have added 10 my
misery at that moment.
The following morning, at rehearsal,
approached Mr. Booth and offered
him my apology. l told him had no
excuse to offer for my conduct, but
wanted him to know how sorry 1 was
that it happened, and that I hoped
such a thing would never occur again.
AS be saw me coming. his face lighted
up with an expression of kindly amuse-
ment, and in fatherly way he said,
That's all right, my boy; be little
more attentive hereafter. You know,
it left me on the stage looking like a
donkey" l was leniently dealt with
partly, no doubt, for the reason
las 1 learned afterwards from
a number of the old actors) that the
part of the physician had been repeat
edly made famous or Infamous by that
same trick.
Another very common idea in regard
to Mr.. Booth is. that he is a morose.
gloomy, self-absorbed man, who has
almost forgotten how to smile. Mr..
Booth has himself called his life a
series of tragedies. He has had much |
20 make him a saddened man, besides |
he natural tendency of genius to rehec-
ion and melanck Wv, and he is not |
what one I'D call of a social |
but he W no means I'M
lpproachabie by the nLmblest member
II the company. He is not too alb
orhed to recognize all with a polite,
ather stately salutation, and often he
5 quite chatty in the wings at night
lie is certainly not devoid of a quiet
euse OF humor. Mr.. Booth, at re-
earsal, simply talks his lines, cutting
II the long speeches and simply giving
ues, his mind evidently occupied with
be business" O.; the play. Though he
alks through the play, he does not
ak through it, but involuntarily his
ody suits the action to the
ord. The actor in him was
ever more strikiDgly illustrated to my
lind than at our first rehearsal of the
lerchant'of Venice and Katherine and
etruchio. During the first play. over
BAT on, hat sedately over mis- brow, he !
as solemn and awfully grand As $
bon as We reached the after play he
'Ssed up his head, cooked his derby ]
at on one side, put his foot /
p on a. chair and his whole face 4
Id bearing changed. His eye has S
merry twinkle and his bearing a !
siicious impudence as he said You {
:, in faith. You re called plain Kate" c
C. He kept US all in ripple of laugh q
r and he himself seemed to feel the
action ofgood hUmor, fer with 4 sober r
ce but merry eye he said to the crowd a
supers at the end of one of his scenes, i
Now all of you go off here laughing :
'artilY, and that will give the audience G
e impression that it's funny play" r
L have just awakened to the fact r
'hlch my miserable reader doubtless {
Scerned some time ago. that l am b
,iting very long, prosy article. C
gin to see heads droop, Jaws drop
i'd eyelids fall, and see visions OF i,
,epiDg heads and HERALD's at !,
II mast. And so, though I have not r
Id at all what | intended, nor finished n
lat l was saying, l have not the n
urage to wake you up, for if ! did to y
t you to listen to the last part of nv Il
'ry you would be cross and critical -
d would be friends with you. So T
leu! -